pins and needles

[loppy]

Good evening, i am after a little guidance, i have just brought a new bike, its a hybrid with flat bars after only about 10 Min's i get pins and needles in both hands i did suffer with this also on an old mountain bike i had although put that down to it being to small i did look like a circus act on it too!!, i am hoping that i may need to adjust the seat to alter the weight on my arms, cant adjust the bars height although can alter the angle, and gloves do they help... any advice or personal experience greatly received
many thanks

[chris_suffolk]

I used to get something similar on my MTB, though not as quick as 10 minutes. Seemed to be caused by pressure in the wrist, especially if the hand was bent back to grip the bars. Switching my hand position, in my case by using bar ends for the majority of the time, alleviated the issue.

I can't comment on gloves as I've always worn them.

May be changing seat and / or handle bars to reduce the reach so that you're not stretching may help too, but for me it was bar ends that had the most dramatic effect

[Mark1978]

Same here when I first started riding my hybrid in July. It took a long while but it no longer happens.

[531colin]

http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=64586&p=551217&hilit=carpal+tunnel#p551217

[Mick F]

I get pins and needles in my left hand.
Always have done, and usually after about an hour of riding.
Never the right, always the left.
I say "always", but I've always been riding the same bike!

I put it down to a trapped nerve in my shoulder or neck.

[LollyKat]

Try ergonomic grips like these which spread the pressure on the hands.


I have them on my (unsuspended) mountain bike and they have made a huge difference to my comfort, far more than bar ends which I never got on with. The ones above are only £6.29 but you can pay more for Ergons and get a range of sizes and even with bar ends built in.

[simonineaston]

+ 1 for Ergon-type grips - they do work! They also need quite careful adjustment - the first pair I fitted took a while to get right. 'What's to adjust?' I hear you say. Well, surprisingly small amounts of rotation seem to make the difference between still getting pins and needles and not.

[Ambler]

I've had neck problems over the years and suffered pins and needles in the wrists and fingers when I first acquired my galaxy.
I have :-
Adjusted the seat position
Fitted a sprung seat (B67)
Fitted an adjustable stem
Fitted fatter tyres
Fitted Ergon grips

Not all at once, but collectively they have cured the problem.

I think the adjustable stem, ergon grips and fatter tyres helped most. Fatter tyres were fitted last but I would try them first if I had to do it again.

The sprung seat was really to obviate any recurrence of my lower back problems.

[Russcoles]

Ergon grips are good. before forking out any money, make sure its not just your gloves reducing circulation. Try riding with the velcro on your gloves undone, this was all I had to do to sort this problem when I had it.

[andymiller]

I know it's easier to write than to do, but the best piece of advice I was ever given was to support yourself from your core and put the minimum of weight onto your hands. Also best to avoid gripping the bars like grim death 9another of my bad habits).

[loppy]

Hi Guys, thanks for all your help, i will certainly take it all on board, i will look for some different grips at the weekend, and try a different position and try not to lean on my wrists to much!! many thanks once again, i have just had my registration offer from the BHF for their night ride best get sorted before then as that will take longer than my 10 or so Min's at the moment i can manage!!!

[singer]

Had same problem this year with a new hybrid - as other posters have said, try a number of things. For me what worked was riser bars and higher stem so less weight on bars, bar ends to give alternative hand position, new gloves and wait for it, cheap soft foam grips (less than 2 quid a pair)from Wilcos. Don't hold on too hard and experiment with front wheel pressure to minimise vibes to your hands. Good luck!

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
Recently sufered something similar, felt some pain in a long ride, after ride tingling and knumb in little finger and ring finger.
I put this down to just a long ride, two months on its fine, but If I think (now I am typing) about it its still there.
One week after ride I was on another similar long road ride (a little extreme) on my touring bike, I knew it would give me jipp so I manuvoured my hand slightly on top bars, and It was not that bad.
Now I have put it down to an old motorcycle injury, I also have a electric stabing in my shoulder / neck (40 mile training at 18 mph)for a second only, then it goes completly! This is also an old dislocated colar bone motorcycle injury!

I think it helps if we know how your riding, age, miles, frequency of rides etc so we can compare to ourselves? (If I missed that sorry)
I hurt if I train 20 to 40 miles, but on a planned long ride I can be symtom free with in reason.

I would wear gloves with some type of integral pad, take heed of others post's about being too tight fitting.
Multi position bars are what expedition riders use, or modern randoneur short drop type?
Move hands often - drop ends-drop brake position-hoods- thumbs forward palms facing each other outer top of drop bars-thumbs out thumbs in on rear top drop bar bends-fingers forward top bars, etc, etc,
I have various bikes but have multi positions on all.

If you are new to cycling or coming back after a break, senior But not suffering from frailty etc, I would still not go for any type of gimmick.
As already posted, time will give relief as you get used to it, i would not ride with one position flat bars by choice, but if your laid back biker then soft grips and higher bars will give probably instant relief, but be warned watch the now ACHEING rear end

[jezer]

I often get pins and needles in my hands, and this after many years of cycling using drop bars. I find the solution is to grip the bars a little tighter. For me it soon goes, it seems to be the vibration caused by holding the bars too loosely. Threre may be other causes, but try that first.

[ukdodger]

Good evening, i am after a little guidance, i have just brought a new bike, its a hybrid with flat bars after only about 10 Min's i get pins and needles in both hands i did suffer with this also on an old mountain bike i had although put that down to it being to small i did look like a circus act on it too!!, i am hoping that i may need to adjust the seat to alter the weight on my arms, cant adjust the bars height although can alter the angle, and gloves do they help... any advice or personal experience greatly received
many thanks

You might need a carpal tunnel job on your hand. I had the same in both hands then had surgery on my left which worked and didnt bother with the right because it wasnt serious.